Reason Foundation

Occupational Licensing in California

Occupational licensing requires individuals to get government permission to work. Aside from being an overreach of government in the economic affairs of individuals, licensing requirements tend to be arbitrary, protectionist, and ultimately unnecessary. This is particularly true in California, which licenses millions of people in hundreds of occupations. Occupational licensing is just one of many hurdles that California legislators and regulators have thrown in the way of people trying to make a living. California goes to great lengths to assert this system of licensing to the point of arranging sting operations against unlicensed home improvement contractors and charging them with misdemeanors.

Reason Foundation published an article today that I wrote reviewing the mess that is occupational licensing in California.

The following is an excerpt illustrating how arbitrary and onerous California's policies of licensing are in comparison to the rest of the country:

A 2007 Reason Foundation study found grossly disparate numbers of occupations requiring government licenses, even among bordering states. California was found to require licenses for 177 occupations, far more than Arizona (72), Nevada (95), and Oregon (107). Of these, only 46 occupations require licenses in all four states. More than 100 of the 177 occupations California required licenses for in 2007 were licensed in fewer than half of all states. The average number of occupations licensed for all states in 2007 was 92, though states ranged from as little as 41 (Missouri) to California’s 177.

The Institute for Justice conducted a more recent review of occupational licensing in 2012, which reviewed 102 “low- and moderate-income occupations,” defined as occupations with incomes below the national average, and the nature of licensing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. California licenses 62 of the 102 occupations reviewed by the Institute for Justice, and as “the second most broadly and onerously licensed state in the country” required an average of $300 in fees and 549 days of education and/or work experience to acquire a license.

For the full article, Occupational Licensing in California: Arbitrary, Protectionist, and Unneccesary, click here.

A 2007 Reason Foundation study found grossly disparate numbers of occupations requiring government licenses, even among bordering states. California was found to require licenses for 177 occupations, far more than Arizona (72), Nevada (95), and Oregon (107). Of these, only 46 occupations require licenses in all four states. More than 100 of the 177 occupations California required licenses for in 2007 were licensed in fewer than half of all states. The average number of occupations licensed for all states in 2007 was 92, though states ranged from as little as 41 (Missouri) to California’s 177.

The Institute for Justice conducted a more recent review of occupational licensing in 2012, which reviewed 102 “low- and moderate-income occupations,” defined as occupations with incomes below the national average, and the nature of licensing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. California licenses 62 of the 102 occupations reviewed by the Institute for Justice, and as “the second most broadly and onerously licensed state in the country” required an average of $300 in fees and 549 days of education and/or work experience to acquire a license.

- See more at: http://reason.org/news/show/occupational-licensing-in-californi#sthash.TMqAbses.dpuf

A 2007 Reason Foundation study found grossly disparate numbers of occupations requiring government licenses, even among bordering states. California was found to require licenses for 177 occupations, far more than Arizona (72), Nevada (95), and Oregon (107). Of these, only 46 occupations require licenses in all four states. More than 100 of the 177 occupations California required licenses for in 2007 were licensed in fewer than half of all states. The average number of occupations licensed for all states in 2007 was 92, though states ranged from as little as 41 (Missouri) to California’s 177.

The Institute for Justice conducted a more recent review of occupational licensing in 2012, which reviewed 102 “low- and moderate-income occupations,” defined as occupations with incomes below the national average, and the nature of licensing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. California licenses 62 of the 102 occupations reviewed by the Institute for Justice, and as “the second most broadly and onerously licensed state in the country” required an average of $300 in fees and 549 days of education and/or work experience to acquire a license.

- See more at: http://reason.org/news/show/occupational-licensing-in-californi#sthash.TMqAbses.dpuf

A 2007 Reason Foundation study found grossly disparate numbers of occupations requiring government licenses, even among bordering states. California was found to require licenses for 177 occupations, far more than Arizona (72), Nevada (95), and Oregon (107). Of these, only 46 occupations require licenses in all four states. More than 100 of the 177 occupations California required licenses for in 2007 were licensed in fewer than half of all states. The average number of occupations licensed for all states in 2007 was 92, though states ranged from as little as 41 (Missouri) to California’s 177.

The Institute for Justice conducted a more recent review of occupational licensing in 2012, which reviewed 102 “low- and moderate-income occupations,” defined as occupations with incomes below the national average, and the nature of licensing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. California licenses 62 of the 102 occupations reviewed by the Institute for Justice, and as “the second most broadly and onerously licensed state in the country” required an average of $300 in fees and 549 days of education and/or work experience to acquire a license.

- See more at: http://reason.org/news/show/occupational-licensing-in-californi#sthash.TMqAbses.dpuf

A 2007 Reason Foundation study found grossly disparate numbers of occupations requiring government licenses, even among bordering states. California was found to require licenses for 177 occupations, far more than Arizona (72), Nevada (95), and Oregon (107). Of these, only 46 occupations require licenses in all four states. More than 100 of the 177 occupations California required licenses for in 2007 were licensed in fewer than half of all states. The average number of occupations licensed for all states in 2007 was 92, though states ranged from as little as 41 (Missouri) to California’s 177.

The Institute for Justice conducted a more recent review of occupational licensing in 2012, which reviewed 102 “low- and moderate-income occupations,” defined as occupations with incomes below the national average, and the nature of licensing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. California licenses 62 of the 102 occupations reviewed by the Institute for Justice, and as “the second most broadly and onerously licensed state in the country” required an average of $300 in fees and 549 days of education and/or work experience to acquire a license.

- See more at: http://reason.org/news/show/occupational-licensing-in-californi#sthash.TMqAbses.dpuf

A 2007 Reason Foundation study found grossly disparate numbers of occupations requiring government licenses, even among bordering states. California was found to require licenses for 177 occupations, far more than Arizona (72), Nevada (95), and Oregon (107). Of these, only 46 occupations require licenses in all four states. More than 100 of the 177 occupations California required licenses for in 2007 were licensed in fewer than half of all states. The average number of occupations licensed for all states in 2007 was 92, though states ranged from as little as 41 (Missouri) to California’s 177.

The Institute for Justice conducted a more recent review of occupational licensing in 2012, which reviewed 102 “low- and moderate-income occupations,” defined as occupations with incomes below the national average, and the nature of licensing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. California licenses 62 of the 102 occupations reviewed by the Institute for Justice, and as “the second most broadly and onerously licensed state in the country” required an average of $300 in fees and 549 days of education and/or work experience to acquire a license.

- See more at: http://reason.org/news/show/occupational-licensing-in-californi#sthash.TMqAbses.dpuf

A 2007 Reason Foundation study found grossly disparate numbers of occupations requiring government licenses, even among bordering states. California was found to require licenses for 177 occupations, far more than Arizona (72), Nevada (95), and Oregon (107). Of these, only 46 occupations require licenses in all four states. More than 100 of the 177 occupations California required licenses for in 2007 were licensed in fewer than half of all states. The average number of occupations licensed for all states in 2007 was 92, though states ranged from as little as 41 (Missouri) to California’s 177.

The Institute for Justice conducted a more recent review of occupational licensing in 2012, which reviewed 102 “low- and moderate-income occupations,” defined as occupations with incomes below the national average, and the nature of licensing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. California licenses 62 of the 102 occupations reviewed by the Institute for Justice, and as “the second most broadly and onerously licensed state in the country” required an average of $300 in fees and 549 days of education and/or work experience to acquire a license.

- See more at: http://reason.org/news/show/occupational-licensing-in-californi#sthash.TMqAbses.dpuf